Bike Handling on Steep Descents

I'm an experienced roadie who recently took up gravel riding (love my 2015 Tamland 1!) with a question about proper bike handling on steep descents.

On my last ride with experienced gravel riders, the group would bomb down the descents, while I white-knuckled it all the way.  I love speed and have no fear on my road bike but this was an entirely different feeling.  Due to the rough conditions, variety of sand, mud, and hard pack, I found myself braking too hard and occasionally losing traction in my rear wheel.   I suppose caution was the better part of valor, but I didn't want to wipe out on my first gravel ride.

It could be that the other guys were totally fearless or perhaps they know the secret behind speed and maintaining control on descents.  I inflated my tires to 55lbs front and back - was that too much?

If anyone is willing share his/her advice, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Don

A little rear tire skidding is usually okay. Similar to mountain biking, it lets you direct the bike a little. But hey, I'm the guy with the broken collar bone, so what do I know!

General rule: get low and back. With most gravel bikes, the smaller knobs lose traction sooner and don't always hook up when you let the brakes go so sometimes rolling fast through a turn is safer than skidding. Brake early, maintain traction (and control) and keep your elbows flexed. 

Riding fast and loose off-pavement on a bike with skinny tires and no suspension takes some getting used to. Your reflexes will kick in, picking lines will become second nature, and you will gain confidence with each ride.  Practice skidding the rear tire while riding in a straight line to learn to feel when it is going to break loose.  Best to err on the side of caution at the beginning - I'm sure cyclotourist will attest that collar bones are better when intact.  

Try lowering your tire pressure! 55 psi is unnecessary for a 40mm tire even on rocky surfaces. Things will smooth out a lot and you'll gain valuable traction at lower pressure - both will help with control. I've used X'Plor MSO 40s on a couple of bikes and found that the best all-around pressure was about 35 psi front and 40 psi rear.  I've run as low as 30 psi when sharp rocks were not an issue, and never found a need to go above 45 psi even for extended road sections. 

Have fun!

Slide your ass back and use your upper thighs to brace the seat horn.
Turn your cranks so your feet are the same height/level with each other.
Don't death-grip your bars.
Let the bike float a little.

And as mentioned, lower tire pressure. Your weight is going to have some effect on how much air you should run; I'm 230 lbs and ride 40mm tires at 45 front, 50 rear, tubed.

I figured I was to blame and not the bike.  Next time I'll loosen up, brake early, and let the bike roll.

Thanks for the timely advice.

A quick, silent prayer don't hurt either!

It's truly all relative. I (basically) have only one hand and use the front brake only - I thought it was normal to be terrified on those steep, loose descents  

I have a 2014 Tamland 1 and it is great bike. However I just turned 50 and mangled my collar bone a few months ago going too fast in heavy rain and hitting a slippery wood bridge. Now I am more gun shy than ever, it is so bad I think it may be permanent.  I'm thinking switching to a drop bar mountain bike approach (maybe that Salsa cutthroat!) and just run 2" tires or at least 1.8" which would be a lot more comfortable for me.

For you on the other hand (get it?) levity is right that 55 PSI is just way too much, especially if those are the 60 TPI MSO that came with the bike which I found were not a very compliant tire to begin with. I am very light, but FWIW with those tires I found almost exactly what levity said to be true - they work best between about 30 and 35 PSI.

Got it.  Relax, say a little prayer, and lower my tire pressure.  Many thanks, all.

DonS. wrote:I figured I was to blame and not the bike.  Next time I'll loosen up, brake early, and let the bike roll.

Thanks for the timely advice.

and lord have mercy, lower that tire pressure!  the XPlor 40c probably don't need to be run at 55psi.  For reference's sake, I am 240 lbs and run pressure about 15-20 lower.  High tire pressure contributes to skittish steering in the dirt and gravel 

Went for a short ride on a moderately hilly gravel trail along the Missouri River bluffs.  Heavy rains had washed diagonal ruts across the trail.  Gravel was dry.   Clay below was not.  Best line angled toward edge of trail at the bottom of the trail.  Ran out of room.  Very edge of the trail gave way. Oow!  4 broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. 5 days in the hospital.  Was trying to be careful but I guess old  fat men (69, 270) need to be extra careful. Still can't figure out how I got deep gouges in the carbon fiber on BOTH sides of the fork crown. (L&R).  Looks like I'll be off the bike for a month.

Rusty Frame wrote:Went for a short ride on a moderately hilly gravel trail along the Missouri River bluffs.  Heavy rains had washed diagonal ruts across the trail.  Gravel was dry.   Clay below was not.  Best line angled toward edge of trail at the bottom of the trail.  Ran out of room.  Very edge of the trail gave way. Oow!  4 broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. 5 days in the hospital.  Was trying to be careful but I guess old  fat men (69, 270) need to be extra careful. Still can't figure out how I got deep gouges in the carbon fiber on BOTH sides of the fork crown. (L&R).  Looks like I'll be off the bike for a month.

Ouch! I hope your recovery is going well, and that the gouges have not compromised your bike's strength.

reanimated wrote: I just turned 50 and mangled my collar bone a few months ago going too fast in heavy rain and hitting a slippery wood bridge. Now I am more gun shy than ever, it is so bad I think it may be permanent.  I'm thinking switching to a drop bar mountain bike approach (maybe that Salsa cutthroat!) and just run 2" tires or at least 1.8" which would be a lot more comfortable for me.

well i'm 45 and just mangled my collarbone when a pickup truck decided it wanted to use the bike lane while I was in it.

I can't recommend the Cutthroat enough for off-road rides. it is comfortable and stable on pretty gnarly rocky downhills yet it is light and very snappy for acceleration.  I run 2.3" tires with 30mm internal diameter wheels, but i plan on getting a 1.8 or 1.9" tire and run it on somewhat more 'normal' width wheelset for rides where I won't be in as much gnar.

 

You'll get it, roadies just take a while to get used to the bike moving around. Slow in fast out (but not too slow in!!!) I'm reasonably quick down hill and it's just practise and a death wish(joking) my straggler runs at 40psi for 85 kilograms and a bit less when I drop to race weight. Trance (MTB) at 30-35, ICT at 10ish. In roadie terms I run the TCR SL0 at 100. Hope it helps.

sgtrobo wrote:

well i'm 45 and just mangled my collarbone when a pickup truck decided it wanted to use the bike lane while I was in it.

I can't recommend the Cutthroat enough for off-road rides. it is comfortable and stable on pretty gnarly rocky downhills yet it is light and very snappy for acceleration.  I run 2.3" tires with 30mm internal diameter wheels, but i plan on getting a 1.8 or 1.9" tire and run it on somewhat more 'normal' width wheelset for rides where I won't be in as much gnar.

 

\nI'm looking at one of these when they're back in stock but I'm a bit worried about the gearing. We have some pretty steep and gnarly climbs here in New Zealand. How do find them?